Usher earned five nominations including Song of the Year and Album of the Year and tops the list of the 2012 Soul Train Awards nominees as just announced by BET. Following closely on Usher’s heels with three nominations each are Estelle (the most nominated female) and Nas. And while R. Kelly only picked up a total of two nominations this year, it was enough to move him into first place on the most nominations in a lifetime list.
BET also announced New Edition will be acknowledged for their lengthy career with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the star-studded, music-filled event to be held in Las Vegas on November 8, 2012 and aired on BET on November 25th. Cedric the Entertainer is set to host the show which includes posthumous nominations for Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. Winehouse earned hers in the Best International Performance Category for “Our Day Will Come.” Houston’s nominated in the Best Gospel Inspirational Performance category for “Celebrate” from the Sparkle soundtrack.
SOUL TRAIN AWARDS 2012 – NOMINEES
Best New Artist
Elle Varner
Emeli Sande
J. Cole
Luke James
Robert Glasper
Centric Award
Daley
Esperanza Spalding
Gary Clark Jr.
Leah LaBelle
Santigold
Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance
BeBe Winans – America America
Fred Hammond – I Feel Good
Marvin Sapp – My Testimony
Mary Mary – Go Get It
Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks – Celebrate
Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
2 Chainz feat. Drake – No Lie
Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb
Nas – Daughters
Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy
Young Jeezy feat. Ne-Yo – Leave You Alone
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Beyonce
Estelle
Keyshia Cole
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Miguel
Robin Thicke
Trey Songz
Tyrese
Usher
Album of the Year
The One – Eric Benet
Channel Orange – Frank Ocean
Life Is Good – Nas
Write Me Back – R. Kelly
Looking For Myself – Usher
Song of the Year
Estelle – Thank You
John Legend feat. Ludacris – Tonight (Best You Ever Had)
Trey Songz – Heart Attack
Tyrese – Stay
Usher – Climax
Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award
Thank You – Estelle (Writers: Arden Altino, Akene “The Champ” Dunkley, Jerry Duplessis, Doug F. Edwards, Thomas D. Richardson, Aliaune Thiam)
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) – John Legend feat. Ludacris (Writers: Allen Arthur, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Keith Justice, Miguel Pimentel “Miguel”, Clayton Reilly, John Stephens)
Daughters – Nas (Writers: Nasir Jones, Ernest D. Wilson, Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka)
Share My Love – R. Kelly (Writer: Robert Kelly)
Climax – Usher (Writers: Usher Raymond IV, Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid)
Best Dance Performance
Beyonce – Love On Top
Chris Brown -Turn Up The Music
Nicki Minaj – Starships
Rihanna – Where Have You Been
Usher – Scream
CENTRICTV.com Best Caribbean Performance
Cover Drive – Bajan Style
Damien “Junior Gong” Marley – SuperHeavy
Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth
Matisyahu – Spark Seeker
Sean Paul – Tomahawk Technique
CENTRICTV.com Best International Performance
Amy Winehouse – Our Day Will Come
Daley feat. Marsha Ambrosius – Alone Together
Emeli Sande – Next To Me
Estelle – Thank You
Gotye feat. Kimbra – Somebody (That I Used To Know)
Rebecca Ferguson – Nothing’s Real But Love
CENTRICTV.com Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group
Chris Botti – Impressions?
Kenny Garrett – Seeds From The Underground
Melody Gardot – The Absence
The Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio
Tony Bennett – Isn’t It Romantic
CENTRICTV.com Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group
Ben Tankard – Full Tank
Brian Culbertson – DREAMS
Cassandra Wilson – Another Country
Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society
Peter White – Here We Go
Source: BET Networks